ITSY BITSY SPIDER

This delightful early reader is one of the first entries in the irresistibly named Urgency Emergency! series that combines nursery-rhyme characters, a medical setting and deadpan humor.

Dr. Glenda the dog and Nurse Percy the rooster are on duty at City Hospital when Miss Muffet (a cat) arrives, escorting an injured spider to the emergency room for treatment of a head injury. Poor Itsy Bitsy “was just climbing up the waterspout” when a flood of rainwater knocked her down. Each step of Itsy’s treatment is carefully and simply described, from evaluation of her cognitive status to the stitching of her wound and arrangements for further care from Miss Muffet. Dr. Glenda is calm and in control, and Nurse Percy is compassionate and kind, holding “all of Itsy’s hands.” Although the approach is humorous, this clever effort is a concise, step-by-step description of the procedure of getting stitches at the hospital, an experience common to many families with young children. Appealing cartoon-style illustrations on yellow backgrounds clearly illustrate the medical procedures and add to the characters’ personalities with expressive faces for all the animals, even Itsy Bitsy. The gender-role defiance exemplified by Dr. Glenda and Nurse Percy’s relationship is an added bonus.

Top-notch medical care in an equally terrific early reader that will appeal to preschoolers, new readers of all ages and anyone else who appreciates droll humor and an inventive plot.